Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Thanks to Safeway and Hillshire Farms for sponsoring today’s post via the Mom it Forward Network. All opinions are honestly my own.

I don’t know what it’s like in your family, but here in the Artsy House, dinnertime can be a real struggle.  Little Crafter is a very picky eater, especially due to some sensory processing difficulties he has regarding textures and smells.  So, it’s a daily battle to get him to eat a balanced diet, particularly when it comes to protein.  But there are two nights a week I know I can relax, because he’ll eat {and eat and eat}…Taco Tuesday and Spaghetti Night.  Here’s a quick and easy recipe for our favorite Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.

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I learned early on that Little Crafter isn’t a huge fan of spaghetti sauce when it just has ground beef in it.  In fact, he prefers to eat his noodles plain, with just a bit of butter, salt, and pepper.  But what he does love is sausage.  When I started adding Hillshire Farms Beef Sausage to the sauce two years ago, he was an instant fan.  Now, he eats his butter noodles, plus sausage, plus garlic bread.  Which means I can relax and enjoy my own meal because I know he’s getting some protein in his diet for the day.  Not to mention the fact that hubby and I love the addition of the sausage too.  Here’s the exact kind we buy and a very simple recipe for how I make the sauce.

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Ingredients:
– 2 jars of your favorite sauce
– 1 lb ground beef
– Hillshire Farms Beef Smoked Sausage
– thin spaghetti noodles
– parmesan cheese

Slice the sausage and place in a frying pan.  Add enough water to just cover the sausage.  Bring to a boil, then simmer for 13 minutes.

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In the meantime, brown the ground beef.  Add ground beef and two jars of sauce to your crockpot and stir to mix well.  Drain your sausage and add to the crockpot.

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I like to let my sauce cook on low or keep warm in the crock pot for 4-6 hours so the flavors really mix together.  You don’t have to do that, though; in a pinch, you can eat it as soon as the sauce is hot.

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Boil spaghetti according to the directions on your package.  Add your meat sauce and some parmesan cheese for an easy protein-filled meal!

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What do you think?  Would your family enjoy the addition of Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage to your next spaghetti meal?  Safeway has some great coupons you’ll want to take advantage of, not just for the sausage we use, but for a variety of other Hillshire Brands products as well via their J4U program.  All you have to do is sign up, download the coupon, then start saving!  Happy eating!

For more great meal ideas featuring other Hillshire Brands products check out these recipes:
Pretzel Wrapped Litl Smokies
Mummy Dogs
Homemade Stromboli with Sausage
Sausage & Apple Stuffed Porkchops
Zombie Muffins with Lil Smokies
Cheesy Sausage and Spinach Pasta
Game Day Hot Dogs
Corn and Sausage Chowder

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